A Doll’s House
Act Two
Answer all the questions using full sentences. Check your answers carefully.
1. Re-read Nora’s reactions to Helmer’s confident assertion that ‘Whatever happens,
I’ll be strong enough. I’m a man, I’ll carry the burden alone.’ (page 48). What do
Ibsen’s stage directions (in relation to the dialogue), suggest about Nora’s response
to her husband’s words?
Notes
(terrified) – pg. 48
(recovering her composure) – pg. 49
NORA stands rooted, terrified and unsure. – pg. 49
(Whisper) – pg 49
She passes her hands over her face, pulls herself together… pg 49
2. Why won’t Dr. Rank tell Helmer of the severity of his (terminal) condition? – Page
50.
Note
You could also consider Helmer’s reaction when he finally learns the truth, in Act
Three (page 75).
3. How significant is the lighting change between pages 49 and 53 (see stage directions
on these pages)? What purpose does it serve?
Note
Light plays an important role again in Act Three, when Doctor Rank bids a final
farewell to Nora. Reread page 74 and discuss the symbolism of the props used and
the dialogue between Doctor Rank and Nora.
4. What does Nora’s confession to Dr Rank in regards to her childhood secret wish to
“slip down to the servants’ room” reveal about her character, and her relationship
with her father and now her husband (line 418)?
Notes
Consider status, gender roles, relationships: could lead into question 5 answer:
5. What references are there to status and reputation, between pages 57 and 58?
What is the significance of these in the play as a whole?
Note
This can be further supported by researching the context – the era in which Ibsen
lived and the society to which he responded.
6. How does Ibsen increase the dramatic tension, and build up to the climax of Act
Two (study pages 58 – 63)?
Notes
Possible aspects to study:
 Stage directions – especially Nora’s actions / reactions, use of pauses
 Dialogue – line length, sentence type, pace, and so on
 Use of emphasis (italics within dialogue)
 Punctuation – increased use of dashes / exclamation marks / question marks
 Dramatic irony
 Metaphor, symbolism – especially the tarantella
 Atmosphere – a build up of energy and dramatic tension through the dance
 Nora’s final reflection as she looks at her watch (lines 686-690): time is
running out.
7. Look at the dialogue and interaction between Helmer and Nora, when she practises
her Tarantella* on page 61. What might the dance symbolise?
Note – this may overlap or be combined with the answer to question 6.
8. What do you think Nora means when she says to Mrs Linde ‘A miracle’s going to
happen’ (page 63)?
Note
‘Miracle’ is also used by Nora in Act Three (see pages 70, 84-85 and 87). What is
its significance?
*For more information about the dance, see over the page.
Tarantella
The term Tarantella groups a number of different southern Italian couple folk dances
characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in 6/8 time (sometimes 18/8 or 4/4),
accompanied by tambourines. It is among the most recognized of traditional Italian music.
The specific dance name varies with every region, for instance tammuriata in Campania,
pizzica in the Salento region.
Courtship vs tarantism dances
The stately courtship tarantella is danced by a couple or couples, short in duration, graceful
and elegant, and features characteristic music. On the other hand, the supposedly curative
or symptomatic tarantella was danced solo by a supposed victim of a "tarantula" bite; it was
agitated in character, lasted for hours or even up to days, and featured characteristic music.
However, other forms of the dance were and still are couple dances (not necessarily of
different sexes), usually either mimicking courtship or a sword fight. The confusion appears
to arrive from the fact that the spiders, condition, its sufferers ("tarantolati") and the dances
all have similar names to the city of Taranto.
The first dance originated in the Naples region and spread next to Apulia, Basilicata and
Calabria, all part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The Neapolitan tarantella is a
courtship dance performed by couples whose "rhythms, melodies, gestures and
accompanying songs are quite distinct" featuring faster more cheerful music. Its origins may
further lie in "a fifteenth-century fusion between the Spanish Fandango and the Moresque
'ballo di sfessartia.'" The "magico-religious" tarantella is a solo dance performed supposedly
to cure through perspiration the delirium and contortions attributed to the bite of a spider
at harvest (summer) time. The dance was later applied as a supposed cure for the behavior
of neurotic women ("'Carnevaletto delle donne'").
The original legend tells that someone who had supposedly been bitten by the tarantula (or
the Mediterranean black widow) spider had to dance to a upbeat tempo to sweat the
poison out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarantella
http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/images/NSdollshouse.jpg